1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cleaning device for a ceiling transport facility and an operation method thereof, with the facility comprising a travelling guide portion for a transport carriage, the travelling guide portion being provided on a ceiling side, a cleaning carriage that can travel along the travelling guide portion wherein the cleaning carriage is provided with a plurality of cleaning suction portions for performing suctioning action on a plurality of locations to be cleaned in the travelling guide portion and a vacuum cleaner connected to the plurality of cleaning suction portions for communication therewith.
2. Description of the Related Art
The cleaning device for the ceiling transport facility is a device that cleans a plurality of locations in the travelling guide portion to be cleaned with cleaning suction portions by causing the cleaning carriage along with a travelling guide.
More specifically, such a ceiling transport facility is provided in clean rooms, such as a down-flow type clean room, and is used to transport, for example, articles in a clean environment, such as transporting containers for holding silicon substrates.
Although the ceiling transport facility may be provided in a clean room, there are locations along the travelling guide portion which dusts tend to adhere to and accumulate on.
And if the dust adhered and accumulated in the travelling guide portion is neglected, and not removed, it causes a problem that it contaminates the space in which the ceiling transport facility is installed as the adhered and accumulated dust drifts away from the travelling guide portion because of the air flow created as the transport carriage travels or by the vibration of the travelling guide portion.
Thus, a cleaning carriage is caused to travel along the travelling guide at suitable times to clean the dust adhered and accumulated on the travelling guide portion.
More specifically, a number of locations which dust tends to adhere to and accumulate on in the travelling guide portion are designated to be the plurality of locations to be cleaned. And by providing the cleaning carriage with a plurality of cleaning suction portions that correspond to those locations to be cleaned, the plurality of locations to be cleaned in the travelling guide portion can be cleaned with the cleaning suction portions by causing the cleaning carriage to travel along the travelling guide.
As an example of such a conventional cleaning device for a ceiling transport facility, there was a device in which a plurality of cleaning suction portions are simply communicated to a vacuum cleaner and which is configured such that, when the vacuum cleaner is operated, all of the plurality of cleaning suction portions perform the sucking or suctioning action simultaneously. (See, for example, JP Publication of Application No. 2000-271552.)
Incidentally, the cleaning device for the ceiling transport facility disclosed in JP Publication No. 2000-271552 is configured to be a cleaning carriage by providing a transport carriage with a plurality of dust suction nozzles that function as the plurality of cleaning suction portions, and by mounting a vacuum type cleaner that functions as a suction type cleaner instead of an article to be transported, and by connecting the vacuum type cleaner with the plurality of dust suction nozzles using ducts etc.
That is, a transport carriage that is normally used to transport articles is converted to perform cleaning work by fitting it with a plurality of dust suction nozzles and by mounting a vacuum type cleaner when performing a cleaning work.
In the conventional cleaning devices for ceiling transport facility, a vacuum cleaner is simply communicated to the plurality of cleaning suction portions such that all of the plurality of cleaning suction portions perform the suctioning action simultaneously when the vacuum cleaner is operated; thus, the suction power of the plurality of cleaning suction portions becomes insufficient, so that sufficient cleaning may not be possible.
More specifically, because the cleaning carriage travels using the travelling guide portion for the transport carriages and transports a vacuum cleaner instead of an article to be transported, the vacuum cleaner to be mounted to the cleaning carriage needs to have a weight that is about the same as that of an article.
Therefore, the vacuum cleaner with a large suction power cannot be mounted due to the weight limitation even where a large vacuum cleaner having a greater suction power is desired to provide a greater suction power for the plurality of cleaning suction portions. Thus the suction power of the plurality of cleaning suction portions ended up being insufficient, so that sufficient cleaning may not be possible.
The shortage of the suction power became more noticeable especially when there is a large number of locations to be cleaned in the travelling guide portion and when all of the large number of cleaning suction portions that correspond to those locations to be cleaned perform the suctioning action simultaneously.
Incidentally, since the vacuum cleaner mounted to the cleaning carriage mounts a battery for actuating electric power, the vacuum cleaner tends to have a low suction capacity for its weight. This is also a cause for insufficient suction power of the plurality of cleaning suction portions.
More specifically, the travelling guide portion in a ceiling transport facility typically holds electricity supply lines for contactlessly supplying electric power to transport carriages. And transport carriages travel under the electric power supplied from the electricity supply lines, and operate its article transfer with the electric power supplied from the electricity supply lines when stopped.
Therefore, while a cleaning carriage can travel using the electric power supplied from the electricity supply lines, the electric power supplied from the electricity supply lines is consumed for moving the cleaning carriage and there is no surplus electric power left to operate the suction vacuum cleaner when cleaning carriage is traveling. Accordingly, the suction vacuum cleaner needs to have a heavy battery. As a result, the vacuum cleaner has a low suction capacity for its weight as described above.